Russian leader blasts US 'cynicism'

Leaked US diplomatic cables show “the full measure of cynicism” in American foreign policy, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said.

The Kremlin is not “paranoid” about the cables released by the WikiLeaks website, he also told the Itar-Tass news agency.

Mr Medvedev joked that the US would have “a whole lot of fun” if they could read assessments made by Russian diplomats and intelligence.

The leaked US cables described Mr Medvedev as “Robin” to prime minister Vladimir Putin’s “Batman”.

Mr Putin denounced the description as “arrogant, impudent and brazen”.

The leaked cables also described Russia as a virtual mafia state where corruption is present at all levels of society.